Mandatory requirements mean that you MUST respond to those elements or else your proposal will be excluded from being considered. Some of the mandatory requirements can be extremely time consuming, and so we mention them here so that you are prepared to gather the information you need.

For example, one of our in-house trainers writes proposals for government. Depending on the government department, in addition to proposing the services that she could provide, she has had to include the following documentation with proposals:

• Proof of liability insurance
• Proof of company registration (incorporation and tax registration documents)
• Copies of health and safety policy
• Copies of privacy policy (so that they know what you will do to protect sensitive information)
• Reference letters and contact information so that they can verify your reliability
• List of qualifications of every team member that will work on the contract (which they may also wish to verify)
• Police background checks and/or fingerprinting for contracts that deal with sensitive government information

Because of very specific and detailed requirements in some proposals, you will need to start your investigations well before the deadline for your proposal. Letters of reference and proof of insurance cannot always be instantly produced. It is a good idea to keep a master file of information often needed for proposals, and to keep everything in it up to date.